How to Improve Your Writing Skills – IELTS Writing

Based on my observation and from talking with our previous students, most find the IELTS writing test to be the hardest.   According to the students, the reason why they find the IELTS writing test difficult is because, they don’t write on a daily basis. 

I did some further digging; majority of our students were nurses, I asked if they had to write reports about their patients and what they did during their shifts.  Most admitted that they did write daily reports, but did not consider it as a writing practice.  I couldn’t blame them for not considering their daily report as practice for their IELTS writing test, as it turns out they could write their report with a mixture of English and our native language (Filipino/Tagalog),
this of course meant that some of the rules of grammar will not be followed.  I suggested that they write their reports in proper English and use it as practice.

Whether you get to write reports on a daily basis or not, the following tips should help you improve on your writing skills:

·         Read – read other peoples work.  After all, the reason people write is so that others can read it.  When you are reading other peoples work, be conscious about how they write.  How their sentences are formed and how the punctuations are used.  The more you read, the more you’ll understand the structure of English sentences. Dissect their work, find out everything you can find out, it will initially take you longer to read the sentences, but it is well worth the time and effort.

·         Write – there is no substitute for practice, and I don’t mean writing a couple of essays and call it quits. Write dozens of essays, if not hundreds.  When you practice your writing, it is good to have an English teacher check your work, if that isn’t possible; you can dissect your work yourself.  When you dissect your work, compare it to a known well written work. Use the internet, you can find dozens of free websites offering resources and models answers for IELTS writing. Please remember that this part will take some time to get used to; take your time to practice and don’t rush into the IELTS exam.

To find out what to expect from the IELTS Writing test click here

For other Writing Tips check the Writing Category